There are so many question marks that it's hard to limit this to 5 for me.

1. Connor Wood. We absolutely need good QB play to have a chance.
2. Paul Richardson. He's got to bring it every week and open up the offense.
3. Chidera Uzo-Diribe. We need someone to be disruptive. He's got the tools to make it happen.
4. Parker Orms. Safety play has been suspect thru the spring. But when Orms is healthy and making plays, CU has competed.
5. Christian Powell. Needs to wear down defenses, stay healthy, and force safeties up so the WRs can go to work.

I decided to go with vets. Everyone but Powell is in at least his 4th year of college football. I was close to adding guys like Derrick Webb, Greg Henderson, Gus Handler and Jack Harris from among the vets. If I look at younger guys, there's an even longer list.

Actually it's not Richardson but whoever is our #2 receiver. PRich is going to be double teamed all year, daring us to throw to someone else.

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1. Tend to agree that Spruce might actually be more key to success in the passing game. PRich is the known big play threat, but someone else is going to have to step up and force teams to play PRich honest or closer to honest; I think Spruce can be that guy.

2. We have to be better against the run to force opposing defenses into obvious passing situations where the defensive ends can really do their thing, so I'll say the development of Josh Tupou as an interior d-lineman.

3. Speaking of defensive ends, whoever lines up opposite CUD (Samson, perhaps) will need to do work. You have to imagine that Chidera will be facing double teams from the opposing lines and even having RBs chip him in passing situations, so the opposite end will likely have more one-on-one opportunities. Need to win those one-on-one battles when the opportunity presents itself.

4. Kenny Crawley, for more or less the same reasons as Spruce and Samson above. We know for the most part what we're getting out of Henderson, but from most accounts, Crawley has the potential to be special. If we can get him to show that more consistently on the field, our defensive secondary starts to look a little better, even with the question marks at safety.

5. Last, but certainly not least, the performance of the starting QB (looking like Wood) will obviously be huge for the team.

1) Connor Wood. Duh.
2) Jack Harris. Keeping Wood's jersey clean will be huge.
3) Paul Richardson. Only guy on the roster that is a scoring threat every time he gets the ball.
4) Daniel Munyer. See Jack Harris, plus we need better interior line play to have any semblance of a run game.
5) Vincent Hobbs. A legitimate 3rd target will really help keep the ball moving.

I say that because in order for me to worry about how well someone's battery mate at a position is going to perform as being a key to success, I have to first be confident that the supposed "playmaker" is in fact a playmaker.

I've got Wood having never done anything at the college level, Richardson coming off a lost season to injury with inconsistency previous to that, Orms with an injury-riddled history and a poor 2012 season, Powell coming off concussions and Chidera only having 2 of his 7 sacks after September of last season.

If I knew what I was getting from those guys, I'd be rate this team much higher for this season. If they're everything that we've seen in flashes, then we've got playmakers in the run & pass games and, if we add Derrick Webb to the list as my 6th guy, a playmaker on each level of the defense. I'm not saying that the other starters, specialists and guys from the 2-deep aren't extremely important. I'm saying that we need some guys to lead and make plays as the first step.

I say that because in order for me to worry about how well someone's battery mate at a position is going to perform as being a key to success, I have to first be confident that the supposed "playmaker" is in fact a playmaker.

I've got Wood having never done anything at the college level, Richardson coming off a lost season to injury with inconsistency previous to that, Orms with an injury-riddled history and a poor 2012 season, Powell coming off concussions and Chidera only having 2 of his 7 sacks after September of last season.

If I knew what I was getting from those guys, I'd be rate this team much higher for this season. If they're everything that we've seen in flashes, then we've got playmakers in the run & pass games and, if we add Derrick Webb to the list as my 6th guy, a playmaker on each level of the defense. I'm not saying that the other starters, specialists and guys from the 2-deep aren't extremely important. I'm saying that we need some guys to lead and make plays as the first step.

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Fair point Nik, just thinking that opposing coordinators are going to still scheme to limit certain guys on our team, even if they are unproven or have questions marks. Even though he's coming off of an injury, defensive coordinators are still likely going to scheme to prevent PRich from beating them, since that's our offensive "threat." On defense, CUD is our "threat" so I'd expect offensive coordinators to scheme to limit his impact. Not saying our threats are on the same level as Oregon's threats or UCLA's threats, but you game plan for your opponent and so I'm guessing that we'll see a lot of coverages rolled to wherever PRich is and protections shifted to where CUD is on the field. I would also expect teams to target Crawley, at least until he's shown that he has improved over last year.

Will Oliver, and whoever ends up being our punt returner. Don't leave out special teams. They often are the difference between winning and losing.

Connor Wood
CUD
Jeffrey Thomas. - as was pointed out, it's not PRich we need to worry about, it's the guys playing on the field at the same time. If JThom has a good year, PRich will have a fantastic year.

1. Jack Harris - Getting the offense in rhythm starts with getting the QB comfortable. If Wood is scrambling on every play it won't matter that the formation and the playbook were changed to give him some time to make his reads.

2. Stephane Nembot - Locking down the other tackle position and not getting pulled on 3rd down should be a result this year of improvement and not simply because there are no other options to replace him (which, given what remains after the loss of Bak and Lewis, may mean we have no other choices). After Wood I am hoping for Nembot to look like the most improved player on this offense. Since he's still young to the game I think there is plenty of room to grow and I hope to see it thanks to the new coaches who will be working with him. He will help our run game immensely and hopefully become a strength in pass protection too.

3. Connor Wood - Enough has already been said here. Proving he can be at worst serviceable and know where to safely throw the ball when the play breaks down will be as important as delighting the Folsom crowd with touchdown bombs we have not seen from the home team in years. If he has Mac's and Lindgren's system down he has the physical tools to win us some games. Setting the tone of heady, mistake-free football early in the game will go a long way in keeping his psyche from getting rattled.

4. Yuri Wright - We know what we have in Greg Henderson. Crawley as a starter in year 2 will build on his potential. Yuri is at a huge crossroads early in his career. Proving we have depth and someone who could challenge for the starting position in games at CB (or S) means taking a chance by not giving him the overdue redshirt and seeing if he is healthy and responsive to the new coaching. Based on the interest in him as a prep player he would be a huge talent to have on the field in the 4-2-5 and if Yuri sees the field often and gets better late in the season then we could have something special to build on looking forward to 2014. The secondary, with the emergence of some of the young on-paper talent and two coaches to split mentoring duties without also pulling coordinator time, may see an injection of Buff fan Kool-Aid if the performance and national rankings emerge from the cellar this fall.

5. As lawdogg stated, a second DE. Is Samson our answer opposite Chidera? Does the light finally switch on for a veteran like Kirk Poston or Juda Parker and see them become a disruptive force on the left side? Does De'Jon Wilson see his first action on the line and show us why half a dozen other BCS schools offered, or is our next starter at the position a player who is newer to Boulder than the coaches? I will be following the fall competition here because the result will be crucial to our defense's success.

Will Oliver, and whoever ends up being our punt returner. Don't leave out special teams. They often are the difference between winning and losing.

Connor Wood
CUD
Jeffrey Thomas. - as was pointed out, it's not PRich we need to worry about, it's the guys playing on the field at the same time. If JThom has a good year, PRich will have a fantastic year.

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Punt returner? You have more confidence in our team that I do right now.

I'm going to say that everything rides on our offense. I have no belief that our D can stop anybody in the Pac12.

1. Jered Bell - we desperately need a S that can actually cover over the top (Orms should play Nickle)
2. Jack Harris - Wood needs time to get the ball downfield to Prich
3. John Walker - have a sneaky suspicion he may be better than Crawley or Wright
4. Woodson Greer -needs to lockdown the strong side LB
5. Josh Tupou - needs live up to the hype and help to free up CUD

I'm cautiously optimistic about the Offense, but still scared sh&$less about Defense (especially the secondary)

Punt returner? You have more confidence in our team that I do right now.

I'm going to say that everything rides on our offense. I have no belief that our D can stop anybody in the Pac12.

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Actually, I probably have less. I'm a big believer in special teams, though. It's a great equalizer. Teams with very good special teams can steal a game or two. It improves field position and gives both the offense and defense options. If we get a punt returner who is a threat to score, that's something the opponent has to gameplan for.

I'm going to say that everything rides on our offense. I have no belief that our D can stop anybody in the Pac12.

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This is why my list was entirely made up of offensive players. It will be a pleasant surprise if the D isn't last in the conference. The only chance for non-suckage is going to be a middle-of-the pack offense.

Actually, I probably have less. I'm a big believer in special teams, though. It's a great equalizer. Teams with very good special teams can steal a game or two. It improves field position and gives both the offense and defense options. If we get a punt returner who is a threat to score, that's something the opponent has to gameplan for.

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I agree regarding special teams. If you had said kick returner instead of punt returner, I would have been on board. I just don't see us forcing many punts and a great punt returner doesn't do you any good standing on the sideline.

Then another 40 guys who can adequately cobble together a competent 21 other positions and key special teams play. If we can do that, we won't be ugly.
We could have 5 guys First team All Conference and get drafted in the first round and not win a game..... This is football, not basketball.

1. Wood...last time CU was good, we had good QB play from the former Buffs4Life President.
2. Harris...got to keep that Wood clean.
3. PRich...don't you think we missed him last year?
4. Spruce...to give PRich single coverage.
5. Thomas...another burner to have single coverage for PRich.

It doesn't matter who plays defense as long as the offense produces. If our offense produces, our defensive players will be more rested and confident.

I agree regarding special teams. If you had said kick returner instead of punt returner, I would have been on board. I just don't see us forcing many punts and a great punt returner doesn't do you any good standing on the sideline.

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Kick returns are going to be fewer and farther between with the new rules. Plus, if you are receiving a kickoff, the other team usually just scored. A really good punt returner makes the opponent do things they might not ordinarily do. Kick out of bounds, go for it on fourth down to avoid the need to punt, put starters on punt coverage, etc.
That said, you're right, we need to stop people first.

Wood. The QB is the key position in football, especially if we're going to be passing like SJSU did.
PRich. If he's good, he'll pull double coverage and open up JT, DD et al. If he's not, um...we'll have to see.
CUD. Need the opponent's O line to have to focus on him to help open up the other guys...kinda the PRich of the D.
Crawley. Need him to be able to make some pics and stops...especially in the PAC12.
Player X. Need someone from whom we don't expect much (all of them?) on D to really step up.